Close to You
by Arisa K
Summary: After the battle is won, the gang dives into celebration, eventually leaving Cloud and Tifa behind to bond. CloTi. A change from the usual angst.


_**Close to You**_

Disclaimer: ....I claim no characters.

The war, the threat, the scare was over, and all that was left was time to rejoice and thank the Lifestream for sparing the lives remaining. Despite the feeling of nostalgia, the sadness in their hearts for those close to them that were no longer in their lives to share this experience of relief and cheer, they felt the need to celebrate the accomplishment of the Planet and all involved.

So the group known as Avalanche did just that.

Occupying the Bar and Grill in the city of Kalm, the group and several other patrons drank, talked, cheered and thanked the help all had to offer during that time of despair and panic. There was laughter and uncontrollable tears, all completely welcome and expected.

There came time for a toast.

"To the Planet!" The robust tone of Barret Wallace boomed from the middle of the floor, holding up a partially full mug of foaming beer.

"To the Planet," repeated a rough voice belonging to Cid Highwind cheered from his spot slouched against the bar counter.

The crowd cheered in unison, and all motioned to drink, until another voice sounded through the cheer so soft and mellow, it was almost startling to the group. All eyes turned to the individual.

"To Aeris," Cloud Strife added to the list of shout-outs. He felt the eyes upon him, and looked up promptly. Suddenly a smile overtook his features as he stood from his chair, raising his glass high into the air, "And to us!"

Screams of celebration erupted as they downed the liquor in their possession. This marked the beginning of a new civilization.

But eventually the party thinned out as many of the patrons left the celebration grounds to return to their hotel rooms or residents. The members of Avalanche were beginning to feel the wear of running about the Planet and defeating its greatest nemesis. One by one, they left the bar, until only two were left behind.

Tifa Lockhart emerged from the restroom into a practically empty bar. Her stride was a bit off, being quite intoxicated as it was. Her eyes surveyed the area, only sighting the bartender, whom sat behind the counter staring at a small black and white television set oblivious to all else around him, and her spiky haired blonde comrade seated at one of the tables, staring at her expectantly.

"Tifa! Where have you been?" he asked, breaking into laughter. "You've been gone...five minutes!"

The woman frowned at him, but not too seriously as she walked toward him with her nose high in the air, "I don't have to answer to you, Cloud!" Lowering herself down upon the chair beside him, she nearly missed the seat completely and wobbled on two of the wooden legs before regaining her balance. She too, shared in his hysterics.

"You drank too much...ha-ha..." Strife pointed out as he swallowed the last of the contents within his clear mug.

Tifa snorted, rolling her eyes, "You had more than me, smartass."

Cloud stared at the mug intently, and flipped it over upside down, "I didn't almost fall off my chair. I can drink..." He looked at his hand, and then held up two fingers, "Five more."

"Cloud!" The brunette exclaimed, gazing at the fingers, "That's only..." She grabbed his hand realizing the digits were merely a blur to her, and felt the fingers that were extended, "Three fingers, you idiot!" Laughing still, she patted the back of his hand in a comforting fashion. "You're going to have one wicked hangover tomorrow."

The man snatched his hand away and shook his head, "No I'm not. You'll be puking before me. I bet you 200 gil!"

"You act like such a child when you're drunk," she teased him.

"You act like a bitch when you're drunk," he shot back.

Both paused in any retaliation, and burst into laughter. This was the first time in a long time either of them felt a moment of ease, without the need to put up a front. All barriers were destroyed with the aid of a substance called alcohol.

"Remember back in Nibelheim..." Cloud trailed off, his eyes staring straight ahead as if in thought.

Tifa looked over at him with a questioning look on her face. "I remember Nibelheim. Anything specific you wanted to say about it?"

After a moment of silence, the blonde continued with a smile. "I had a huge crush on you. I thought I was in love with you. I even wrote a song for you, hoping I'd be able to play it on your piano someday for you. It's the only song I ever knew how to play."

Time froze. His admittance was almost enough to completely sober her up—but not quite, "Oh Cloud, you are so silly!"

His attention shifted to her with the snap of his head, and he promptly stuck his tongue out at her in a childish fashion, "I am not! I'm serious! I'll prove it. I think I still remember!" With that, the hero stood from his chair with minor difficultly. However, making it to the public piano which was normally used by musical guests that sometimes ventured into the restaurant to entertain the locals, was a bit of a feat within itself. Stumbling over to the polished mahogany piano bench, he slid onto it with the attempt to appear professional, but still appeared fairly drunk. Lifting the cover, he cracked his knuckles and settled his fingertips above the ivory keys.

Tifa watched him carefully from her place at the glass cluttered table. She couldn't comprehend this, that Cloud wrote a song for her and after so long ago he remembered. There was a time he couldn't recall their promise, but a song written just for her he could dig up in the confines of his mind and play the piece like it was jotted down yesterday? It filled her with a hope that maybe...

In the beginning, his fingers tumbled over themselves. It struck a terrible sound within the ears of those present. Even Cloud shuttered at the noise. "Sorry, I'm like, rusty." He laughed at himself, but with a sudden look of determination, the keys pressed created a fairly smooth flow despite the immense concentration that took place on his part. Slowly, but surely, the words of a lost song returned to him:

_Always there, in front of me_

_I see you, but you don't see_

_How much I'd want just to be_

_Close to you, close to you..._

Her heart pounded as she felt a familiar sting behind her eyes. Clenching the chairs' armrests, she pushed herself to her feet, where her shaking legs led her to stand behind the man who happily serenaded his longtime friend, and old time crush.

He felt her presence suddenly behind him, and he faltered his notes. But once he recovered, he was overcome with emotion as he continued to sing the sweet lyrics of a song he once thought lost to him:

_In the shadows, I stood by you_

_My devotion true_

_Yet you just never knew_

_I loved you, I loved you..._

_When you fell away from me_

_And all I grasped was air_

_It was too hard to believe_

_That you may never care_

_But I'll still be here_

_Close to you_

_Only you_

The chords ended, and there was a long break of silence. Carefully, the blond man closed the lid over the ivory and ebony keys, creating as little sound as possible. It reminded him of the past, of his failures, but most of all what he almost lost indefinitely that could never be replaced. Something he wanted to hold to, forever.

Tifa, for a long time, was speechless. And what was there to say? He took the breath right from her lungs, and when it returned, she found herself gasping for it. It was a song of the past, how he used to feel...but what made him tell her now?

Before she knew it, he was standing in front of her, looking down into her ruby eyes that were glossy with unshed tears and alcohol. He, as well, adorned glassy eyes but it seemed both parties were beginning to return to the world of sobriety. "Tifa..."

Staring into those Mako eyes, she swallowed deeply, searching for something to say, "Yes..?

"..........Did you like it?"

Almost startled by the inquiry, she nodded her head, "Oh, yes, I liked it very much. I didn't know..."

"Tifa..." He interrupted her softly. His eyes were intense, as if he were internally deliberating something, but couldn't come to a definite conclusion. "May I do something? I've wanted to do this for a long time, but...the time wasn't really right. I think it is now. Or maybe not--I don't know. Am I making sense?"

The woman just stared at him with a vacant expression. The substance swimming through her blood stream was making it difficult for her to read between the lines of his words. She had no idea what he was talking about. "Is it going to hurt?"

It was Cloud's turn to send her a blank expression, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't think so. So I can?"

Tifa gently shrugged her shoulders, "Uh...yeah. Go ahead..."

He nodded, and to Tifa's utter surprise, he took each of her hanging hands into his grasp and dipped down. He kissed her frozen lips, which didn't register the act until seconds after it occurred. However, once registered, life was breathed into the immobile pink lips and willingly returned the gesture.

He was wrong—it hurt. It hurt when he pulled away.

"Tifa." Her name from his mouth made her heart break. But with the tender squeeze from his hands to hers, the broken pieces mended instantly, "I don't want to stop."

A small smile came to her visage as she tilted her head to the side as she gazed at him with a touch of amusement, "Then don't."

Returning the smile, he moved his hands from hers to the small of her back and brought her closer, sealing the distance that divided them.

The first kiss was a silent proclamation of his continuing affection for his childhood crush. The second was what marked the change in their relationship forever; a very blissful change indeed.

end


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